ROYAL Mail postman Roger Green has launched a world-wide search for former telegram boys to keep alive memories of a bygone era.

A former messenger boy, he has set up a website and messageboard to record stories and memories from around the world.

Most messenger boys began working for the GPO, as it was then, at the age of 14 or 15 and were the bearers of some of the best and the worst news.

In the days before phones, texts and emails, when a telegram was the only way of getting a message to someone on the same day, the boys were dispatched on foot, bicycle or motorcycle.

They delivered news from weddings and pools wins to strikes, funerals and informing widows of lost servicemen.

The messenger service was disbanded more than a quarter of a century ago, but the new website hopes to reunite old friends and create a piece of history which will keep the tradition of the telegram boys alive forever.

Said Roger: "Being a telegram boy was preparation for entering the man's world of work.

"There were distressing times and happier times depending on whether you were delivering bad or good news and you saw life from both sides.

"In the war years the sight of a telegram boy sent shivers into the heart of women who had family members in the armed forces.

"At the end of the day the telegram messenger boys have a lot of history and it would be a shame if any of that was forgotten."

If you have any memories or pictures, get in touch with the Looking Back desk and as well as telling your tale, we will also pass them on to the website.